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#151960 - 10/28/04 05:40 AM
Re: OT: Got A Speeding Ticket (My First ever) !
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Senior Member
Registered: 11/19/02
Posts: 2867
Loc: Tampa, FL
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Scott,
Why are you rushing to traffic school?
Before the server crash, I posted in June that I had received my first speeding ticket in all my 32 years of driving. I WAS coming home from a gig at 1:00 am and I was (allegedly) nailed doing 59 in a 45 mph zone.
Well I went to court last Wednesday for that speeding ticket. When I got to the court, I was dismayed to find there were at least 100 people in that room waiting for thier case to be called. I walked over to the sign-in desk and signed in. I noticed that all the other names had been checked off. I arrived at 6:00 pm for a 6:30 pm court date. Once I signed in, I sat down. As soon as I sat down, I noticed the clerk read the sign in sheet, pull documents from a box and place my documents across the room on a table.
The police officer who gave me the ticket then walked over to the table, read the documents, then called out my name. I went over to the officer. He read my document and said, "hmmmmm, 59 in a 45 huh....no prior speeding tickets in the last 3 years...I'll tell you what....I'll give you a break if you plead guilty to a lesser charge of broken speedometer which is a non-moving violation and pay a $35.00 fine"
For a micro-second I thought about exclaiming my innocense (being the pig headed Italian that I am), but thought better of it and said; "Golly Gee Officer, thank you!! That would be great". Then he tells me there may be a slight surcharge tacked on by the Judge.
I go and sit down and lo and behold, the Judge calls my name after the next person. I go up to the bench and hear the judge read the charges and explain that I was pleading guilty to a lesser charge of broken speedometer. He then looks up in the air and says; "$40.00 surcharge".
So, for $75.00 and 10 minutes of my time the issue was closed -- NO SPEEDING TICKET!!
If I were you, I would seek out the officer who gave you the ticket and ask to plead to a lesser charge. It's all a game by these municipalities to generate cash.
Good Luck!
Al
_________________________
Al
Pa4x - LD Systems Maui 28 - Mackie Thumps
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#151975 - 10/29/04 10:17 AM
Re: OT: Got A Speeding Ticket (My First ever) !
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Senior Member
Registered: 10/27/03
Posts: 2417
Loc: CA
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Originally posted by KFingers:
Perhaps it's not a game but a way of trying to reduce the number of people who get killed by mindless idiots in charge of cars.
Here in the UK we have a points system for such offenders - get 12 points and you lose your licence for a year. Surely you guys in the US have something similar?
KF
There is no points system as such here in the U.S. that I'm aware of. At least not in California to my knowledge. Here in California if you're caught speeding in excess of 100MPH (160km/h for our UK friends), it's off to jail you go. If you're caught drinking and driving it's off to jail you go. If you have more than one DUI, i.e. - driving while under the influence of Alcohol or Drugs, i.e. Drunk or Loaded - within a certain time span, you will lose your license for 6 months to a year I believe. In California and most likely in most other states, City police set up DUI checkpoints every so often to try and nail offenders. State Police (Highway Patrol in California) do it too. The roads are already jammed with tons of vehicles galavanting down our roads and highways which makes for a rather arduous task to navigate them as it is. Add on top of that those that are Drunk or Loaded "or Both  " plus the speeders, and you could see why Law Enforcement takes a very dim view of offenders, especially the repeat kind. And yes, your insurance will go up if you have a ticket[s] on your record. So traffic school is a great way to eliminate not only the ticket from your record but also in keeping your insurance premiums from going up.... and up.... and up.... depending on the amount of tickets you get plus variables as to the kind and severity of the ticketed offense.  Best regards, Mike [This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 10-29-2004).]
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Yamaha Genos, Mackie HR824 MKII Studio Monitors, Mackie 1202 VLZ Pro Mixer (made in USA), Cakewalk Sonar Platinum, Shure SM58 vocal mic.
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I'm eligible to attend Traffic School and get this violation COMPLETELY REMOVED from my DMV driving record. I'm also thankful this didn't happen 'on my way' to a gig.
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